


Unexpected V2

by littlesolo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-25 05:56:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13827924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesolo/pseuds/littlesolo
Summary: A young girl is found as part of an experiment.  A former Sparrow.  Natasha takes her under her wing.  Natasha tries to balance her new role with her new relationship with Maria at the same time.Rewrite of story by the same name.





	1. Found

It all happened simply because Natasha had put the pieces together. For months she'd been on the trail of what looked to be Red Room reborn. Missing girls with no families, Sparrows, and high tech experiments. That's when she uncovered the facility.

"You know I hate when your hunches pay off. It usually means trouble" says Clint, his bow at the ready. Natasha has her guns out as well, the facility having already shown it merchant for boobytraps. The facility reads as mostly abandoned but something about it leaves a bad feeling in her stomach. That's when they find her. Or at least the large tube holding her. At first it looks just like a large dust covered column but there's a humming sound coming from it and about two others. The other two glass columns have been shot through and hold the remains of individuals inside. Clint and Natasha share a look before Natasha raises her hand to brush away the dust on the one remaining tube. Inside there's a suspended girl with wires attached to her head and forearms, suspended in sleep.

"What do we do now? Take her canister and all or release her?" asks Clint. Natasha makes her way over to the consoles monitoring the girl and that's when they find the blood bath. "Is that Broward? I thought he fell off the map about six years ago" remarks Clint about one of the fallen scientists. Broward had been renowned for his work on mind control, recalls Natasha.

"Looks like they did a quick clean up job and then just abandoned her. What's she look like to you, sixteen, eighteen years old?" asks Natasha.

"I'm looking at these medical files here. There's a lot I don't get, but it looks like she's a regenerator. They messed with her head. Name is _C. Soto_ if that sounds familiar at all" comments Clint. It doesn't, which doesn't really mean anything. None of the subjects taken for experimentation, well taken at all, wouldn't have anyone looking for them.

* * *

In the end they are ordered to extract the subject as is and it involves Bruce and Tony coming to safely transport her in her tube all the way back to a SHIELD bunker. Natasha glances at the handful of records they have her. They had also found recorded footage of their trials and review sessions with her. They'd found the girl early, but not so early enough that she'd already begun Sparrow training. But from there it began to look less and less like Red Room and more like something she couldn't name.

"I don't like this, it's too convenient" offers Steve when Natasha and Clint go for a debriefing.

"You didn't see that place. There were still a few booby traps active for us to work through. They probably didn't expect us to bring her back with us in one piece. I mean when has that ever been a good idea, am I right Nat?" teases Clint, which earns him an elbow in the stomach from Natasha.

"I actually think her background is similar enough to Natasha that Natasha should oversee her progress" decides Phil. Progress, right. Natasha had watched as Bruce and Tony had woken the girl up. She'd come to with a gasp and struck out, breaking Banner's nose and launching Tony backwards with a well placed kick, scrambling backwards to try and get away. Both men had tried to reassure her that she was fine but she hadn't calmed down until Natasha strode in the room. She treated Soto like she would a skittish animal, making and holding eye contact.

"You're safe here. No one is going to hurt you anymore." Soto had just watched, her body still shaking from coming out of stasis for so long. But she didn't say a word. She allowed Tony and Bruce to help her up and submits to their tests but has yet to say a word. According to Bruce they had experimented on the girl's amygdala in an effort to rid her of her fear and compassion except the end result, according to the facilities files, was an assassin who was overwhelmed by her emotions.

When Natasha sees her the next time Natasha sees her, she's with Maria on the other side of mirrored glass.

"Has she said anything yet?" asks Natasha. Maria shakes her head.

"All she's done is sit there." Natasha watches as her knee bounces a mile a minute before she enters the room.

"What do you think the others will say if I take her for a sparring session?" asks Natasha.

"What are you thinking" asks a curious Maria.

"Well, they've trained her so that fighting is second nature for her so maybe that will come back easier than talking." Maria nods and motions for Natasha to proceed. Natasha opens the adjoining door and walks in. "C'mon Fidget, lets change the view a bit" says Natasha. Soto cocks an eyebrow at her until she motions to the bouncing knee. The bouncing promptly stops, but the curious look remains on her face. Natasha motions for her to come and the girl tentatively follows until they're at the sparring area.

The first disconcerting thing was that Soto didn't even seem to be paying attention as Natasha stretched. She swayed a bit on the mats as if she were dancing to a song in her head. By now they'd gathered quite a viewing party of Maria and Phil as well as Clint and Steve. Clint crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. He'd observed the girl as well and wasn't sure what to make of her. She reminded him a bit of Natasha when he'd first brought her in. Maria was concerned that the girl spent too much time in her own head. According to the files that had come from the facility as well as some of their own SHIELD records, the girl could get the job done, no question. It just came to her wandering mind that had Maria worried.

Soto isn't even facing her when Natasha first strikes, but the girl uses the Spider's momentum to flip her while twisting her arm and striking a blow between her shoulder blades. Natasha knew she'd been aiming for the area right below her neck and was honestly a bit impressed by how close she'd come. Soto seemed to glide across the mat, putting a fair distance between the two. Her face held an expression of curiousness while she waited for Natasha to make her next move.

Nobody other than Clint and Maria were able to read and anticipate what Natasha was going to do in a fight, but this girl seemed to. The girl danced clear of another of Natasha's strikes and that's when Natasha saw it. As she moved, it was literally a dance move. Ballet specifically. Natasha smirked and Soto seemed to realize that something had changed as a look passed over her face. From that point on their sparring seemed to move at an increasingly rapid and aggressive pace, ending only when the two had each other pinned and neither was willing to yield.

"Well done, Fidget" comments Natasha as she dries off her face with a towel. It'd been the first time in a while that she's been able to push herself like that.

* * *

After months of observation, it's Phil's decision to have Soto shadow Natasha for a while.

"Are we really thinking of making her an operative?" asks an incredulous Steve.

"It's the same protocol that we used when we got Natasha" answers Phil with a wave of his hand. "Tony and Bruce have cleared her mentally. They seem to think that active duty might actually be good for her. It's something she's familiar with. And for the moment, she's not doing anything other than accompanying Natasha and occasionally some black bag work" adds Phil.

And everything goes well until they encounter a scientist who calls the girl "Little Mouse." Soto doesn't freeze exactly but she does go slightly pale and develop a slight tremor until they get to the debriefing. Natasha brings her home with her that night and puts in a call to Maria.

"Something happened" says Natasha softly, Soto asleep on her sofa.

"What?" asks Maria, at home for once. She knows it has to be pretty bad for Natasha to keep it from the SHIELD team and doctors.

"I don't know. She didn't freeze exactly, but I think we brought back someone from her past, but she can't remember him. But she knows the phrase 'Little Mouse' and that's what triggered her."

"So what did you do with her? With the scientist too?"

"We brought the scientist back for questioning. See what we can uncover there, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving her in the same building he was, so I brought her home."

"And your sure you're safe there? Her nightmares won't get to you?" Natasha smiles slightly into the phone.

"No, but I'll call you if anything happens. Have a good night Maria."

It's not till much later, with the television on low in the background, that Natasha wakes up, something feeling wrong. She opens one eye and sees that Soto has just woken from a nightmare. The girl is a sweaty mess. As she moves towards Natasha, the spy resumes her eased breathing feinting sleep. The touch at her wrist nearly makes her jump out of her skin but outwardly nothing changes. That is until she hears Soto murmuring "She's real....she's _real_..." to herself. It's the first words that Natasha's ever heard her say. Natasha definitely wanted answers from their newest SHIELD guest.


	2. New York

They're always surrounded by chaos and sometimes Maria needs a reminder that she's human. In times like these, Sharon yanks Maria off the Bridge and down to the family bar, the Firecracker Lounge. The beer helped but what really got Maria to unwind was the TMNT video game in the corner. Having been busy beating the first three levels with Sharon, she never saw Natasha coming, much less enter the bar.

"Never would have pegged you as a gamer, Hill" remarks Natasha as she watches the turtles battle it out on screen.

"Romanov, I am off duty and saving the world as a turtle. Unless you're here to insert a quarter, go away." Natasha watches for a moment longer, finding the way Maria's tongue pokes out while she's playing adorable, before choosing Mikey as her turtle. Sharon snorted.

"Appropriate choice" she muttered, concentrating just as hard as Maria against their ninja foes.

"Same to the both of you, Leonardo and Raphael. What, no Mario games for you Maria?" asks Natasha, wishing the buttons responded faster.

"Any princess that gets captured over and over again is stupid. Put a tracker on her and give her a can of mace. April O'Neil is awesome and is willing to go the extra mile for her story and not even mutant turtles will scare her off" answers Maria, and Sharon hides a grin at her friend's enthusiasm.

One boss battle and half a level later, Sharon has to go and Natasha discovers that Maria and Sharon are high score holders of the game. When Maria finally wears out her fingers, she offers to buy Natasha a burger from the bar. The two sit comfortably, sharing a large plate of fries until their burgers are ready. Taking their burgers to go, they wander the streets until Maria's walked Natasha half way home.

"We should do this again sometime" says Natasha, breaking the comfortable silence they'd fallen into. The night had been fun, at least that's until Natasha notices Maria giving her an odd look.

"Are you being serious?" asks Maria, watching the spy carefully. Maria had been the subject of bets before, but she would have thought Natasha above all that. Her suspicions seem right given how flustered the assassin seems now.

"Yes, I was being serious, but if you don't want to just say so" replies Natasha, her mask falling back in place. Maria watches her for another moment before replying.

"Okay then" she says and then finishes off her burger. _Okay then?_ Only Maria Hill could make asking her out on a date so complicated. Natasha wasn't even sure what she was agreeing to. Had she agreed that Natasha was being serious or that she'd go out with her sometime? As a spy, she'd been trained in subtleties, but the Maria she'd seen playing an arcade game was vastly different from the Maria she normally saw on the helicarrier. But they went out again. Actually, it became sort of a thing. 

* * *

When the New York incident begins to unfold, Natasha is pulled out of an op to go get Banner. Soto is sent to guard Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis. She'd been flying back with Banner when she called the helicarrier to update them on their ETA. Someone answered that Coulson was with Fury and Hill was in Medical, finally being looked over from after the cave in. Natasha ended the call (without bothering with the update) and settled in her seat. Banner raised an eyebrow at her in question but Natasha merely shook her head. She turned to one of the other soldiers on the jet.

"Hey, what can you tell me about the cave in?"

* * *

 

Natasha escorts Banner and Rogers to the deck and checked what the update on Clint was before managing to come up behind Maria. She fingers had only just brushed Maria's elbow when Maria let out a hiss of pain. Maria whirled around ready to unleash on whatever low level agent bothered her, but her face calmed when she saw it was Natasha. At least, that was until she realized Natasha's glare was still aimed at her.

"A cave in?"

"I had to follow Loki and Barton!" explains Maria, knowing that the Hawk and Spider are like siblings.

"That's not what I'm mad about and you know it!" growls Natasha. However as she looks at the Assistant Director's face, she could see that she didn't. This made Natasha madder since she was possibly the least qualified person to explain feelings and emotions to another person. Hell, she wasn't even certain she could put into words what she was trying to say. Instead she drags Maria to her empty office and shut the door behind them, locking it for good measure.

"Nat what's going on?" Instead of responding, Natasha untucks Maria's shirt and inspects her body for wounds. Maria's entire upper back looks like one large bruise. "Natasha!" Maria jerks back and tucks her shirt back in place. She'd been utterly confused as the spy had dragged her into her own office. Fixing her uniform, she avoids Natasha's glare. "It's not a bad as- I'll be fine. We just have to concentrate on finding Barton and Loki" says Maria. Because she'd rather think on the problem in front of them rather than the cave in. She didn't want to think about Phil ordering the scientists to the jets, to forget the equipment. Didn't want to think about Fury giving her orders from the safety from the chopper. Didn't want to think about whether the tunnel would hold long enough for her to get out. One moment she was absorbed in her thoughts of crumbling dirt and rock, and the next moment Natasha's lips were on hers. Her lips were soft and warm and in that moment Maria forgot about how much her side and back ached. When Natasha pulls back she keeps her hand on Maria's cheek.

"The Assistant Director has to stay alive, she's pretty damn important around here" murmured Natasha. Maria eyes drop at that point, but Natasha guides her gaze back to her. "We also have a date that I've been looking forward to" remarks Natasha as she pecks Maria's lips again. Maria takes a deep breath and nods, a smile slowly creeping on her face. She gives Natasha's hand a squeeze and then they head on back out to save the world. 

* * *

Natasha runs from the Hulk. 

Phil dies. 

There's a massive alien attack on the streets of New York. 

The council launches a nuke at them and they almost lose Stark.

All of this was a lot for anyone to handle. That night Maria invites Natasha back to her quarters. She needs to reassure herself that Natasha is really here and really okay. Natasha is thinking along the same lines, spotting the signs of new injury across Maria's face. Maria, who is fiddling with opening a bottle of wine.

"Should you be drinking with your head?" asks Natasha. Maria stops fiddling with the bottle to look at her, really look at her and her hands begin to shake.

"Probably not with a concussion, huh?" asks Maria as Natasha takes the bottle from her and guides her to the small sofa. "You're welcome to have some."

"I'm fine" says Natasha. She holds on to Maria's hands, steadying them in-between her own. Neither of them are fine and they know it, but sitting here, holding on to each other they think they can make it.  

 


	3. Memories

After a series of successful missions, Clint drops in on Nat for a visit.

"Miss my face yet?" asks Clint with a grin. As much as he likes Nat, he loved spending some down time with his wife and newborn daughter.

"Hardly, how's Laura?" replies Nat as she switches out of her boots.

"She sends you her love. How's your shadow holding up? Still not speaking? _Can_ she speak?" asks Clint, it's a question he's been dying to ask.

"She's good. An artist with those monofilament wires of hers. And yes she can speak, Bruce says she's capable, she just...doesn't. It's refreshing after dealing with your ongoing chatter during missions."

"Let me get this straight, she spends days with Foster and Lewis and still isn't speaking?"

"Her choice. I hear she and Foster are keeping in touch via Skype."

"Silent conversations? Is that how she spends her spare time?" Natasha shrugs. "Wait. Do you really not know?" Natasha gives him a look.

"After four months, I'm done spying on her. As far as I know, we go on missions, we come home. What she does after that, is her business" states Natasha.

"C'mon, you're not even a bit curious? I mean I for one want to know what she and Jane talk about. Apparently she's been wandering around the carrier in her spare time, what kinda hobby is that?"

"If you're so curious, why don't you go see her?" remarks Natasha as she finishes tying one shoe.

"Okay I will" retorts Clint. Natasha does a double take as she watches Clint stride out of her quarters.

"Shit" she mutters as she hurries to lace up her other shoe. She catches up to Clint just as he knocks three times and opens the door. He glances inside and then back out at the door frame.

"What is this, a closet?" asks Clint. In all honesty, Natasha had never really made the time to see the inside of Soto's quarters. Looking at them now, she thinks Clint's not far off. There's barely enough room in there for the small cot, and a row of books neatly stacked in the corner. On top of the books sits on of Clint's old iPods, loaded with music from the archer as well as Bruce, and Tony (not wanting to be left out). Sitting there on the edge of her cot, sits Soto with a clipboard making sketches of some sort.

"Whatcha up to?" asks Clint with yet another grin. Ever since the birth of his daughter, he couldn't stop grinning. Soto shrugs in response. Natasha picks up one of the drawings. They were technical in nature and seemed to be of various helicarrier parts.

"Have you showed these to Tony?" asks Natasha as she flips through a few more. Soto blushes slightly and shakes her head, gently collecting the drawings from Natasha's hands. "They're good, you should show him."

"Soto! I've come to collect you for your medical check up. You were due there an hour ago" barks Sitwell. Soto rolls her eyes. She's been tested on everything due to her regenerative powers. She heals quickly but not without pain. Getting up, Soto knocks over a few of her sketches, which Sitwell is quick to snatch up. Analyzing them quickly, he calls over three other agents. "You, get me Stark down here. The two of you place Soto under arrest for espionage" barks Sitwell again.

"Whoa, wait, over a couple of sketches?" asks Clint, watching Natasha place herself between Soto and the looming agents.

"Sketches of essential SHIELD machinery for possible sabotage" argues Jasper.

When Tony eventually arrives Jasper shoves the sketches towards him. "How much trouble are we in?" Tony gives Jasper an unimpressed look before studying the sketches.

"These aren't plans for sabotage, these are....upgrades" mumbles Tony as he shifts through the papers. "Who did these?"

"Silent Soto over here" announces Clint with a jut of his thumb.

"These are definitely interesting. You should join me and Bruce upstairs and get some more of these ideas of yours on paper" says Tony with an outstretched arm towards Soto. Soto looks over to Natasha, who nods, before following silently after the billionaire.

* * *

Having seen the quarters that Sitwell assigned the girl, Natasha thinks back to what Phil had assigned her. Her first quarters had at least come with it's own bathroom, but not much else. Natasha finds herself in Maria's office without thinking.

"Nat, what can I help you with?"

"We need to get Soto decent quarters. Larger quarters, Jasper has her in an old closet it looks like. Even Clint thinks it's small."

"Well there's an opening over where our quarters are. Patterson just got transferred so it's a little ways from yours but next to Sharon's. Or did you mean getting her a place off carrier?" asks Maria. Natasha settles herself into one of the chairs across from Maria's desk.

"I don't think she's quite ready to be out there yet."

"You think she might run?"

"I remember Phil giving me my first apartment. It was small even by New York standards. I kept wondering at first if I was being set up to be killed. Whether SHIELD would rain down on me should I set out of line or simply give up my location to my enemies. I don't want to call her paranoid, but I'm afraid that having Sitwell handle her has made her slightly skittish. I think giving her own place here would give her a sense of home. And maybe if we take her off Sitwell's hands?" asks Natasha. Maria nods.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

 

Moving Soto into new quarters only draws attention to how few things she has. At least she now has a queen size bed now rather than some cheap roll away cot. Bruce gifts her books on engineering and virology. Tony gets her a coffee maker and customized tablet for her ideas. Clint sets her up with Netflix. Even Natasha gets her a gift of a new iPod. It's Maria's gift of a stuffed T Rex that has the most impact.

"For nightmares" is the only explanation Maria gives, but it seems to be enough. The rest comes easy enough and what doesn't is learned. Natasha gets her a jacket to start off her wardrobe. One would think that of all things a wardrobe would be easy enough to accumulate, except the way Natasha and Soto have been trained, clothes are merely a costume to be shed after a mission is over. When the mission is over, you shed everything. Your identity, your hobbies, your life. Who you were was whatever the next mission called for, and until then you were a blank slate.

It isn't until a week after the Bulgar mission that Natasha senses something is wrong. He'd been another Red Room lead, and Soto had dutifully followed her lead. Natasha conducts her interview of sorts which earns the scientist a bullet to the knee. He claims to know nothing, until Soto comes out from the shadows to help Natasha prepare him for transport. Then he won't shut up, at least he doesn't until Soto flexes her hand and her wrist wire is around his throat.

"Perfection" he says with strangled awe. Natasha goes behind Soto and whispers in her ear. Now's not the time logic, like Phil would use or wit and a trick like Clint would. The scientist continues to rattle on about his success, not seeming to care that the wire is gradually closing in on his windpipe the longer he goes on. "Never before seen" and so on. Did she know that they took her eggs as well? "Science evolves and progresses and to do so we need subjects and who better to choose from than one that is, an albeit limited, success." No Natasha knows that crazed look in his eyes. It's the pleasure at having crafted the perfect weapon, she remembers the proud glint in Madame B's eyes when she'd accepted her fate. That she had no place in this world but as their weapon. Shaking herself out of her own past, she wraps herself around the smaller assassin from behind, her taser baton ready if necessary.

"Show him that you're more than all his science, all his breakthroughs, that you're more than his neural mapping and MRIs" whispers Natasha. The wire gradually loosens from around his neck, but it leaves a thin trail of blood in it's wake. She says nothing the entire ride home, not that Natasha would expect her to, but the silence feels heavy. Natasha plans on getting whatever answers she can out of the man.

When she gets back that night, Natasha finds an escape from her demons in Maria's arms. Lying spent on Maria sheets, Natasha lets her mind wander as she listens to Maria sleep. She thinks back to the video footage they'd retrieved. In it was a possibly fourteen year old Soto. The scientists ask her permission to "challenge her further" not letting her know it would include shaving away bits of her body and mind. All she had wanted to know was if she'd still be able to dance.

It takes Natasha nearly a week to realize that she was not the only one effected by the twisted scientist. It's actually Sharon who brings Natasha to the gym log for the past week. When she goes to knock on Soto's door, she waits until it opens before going in. Inside, she takes in the various piles of books scattered around the bed and the tv queued up to the recent King Kong movie on Netflix.

"You're not sleeping" says Natasha. "And you've been avoiding me." It's a statement of fact and an observation. Soto shifts uncertainly on her feet. Had Natasha not been blocking the door, she suspects the smaller spy would have tried to make her escape. Natasha points to the stuffed T Rex. "He not doing his job?" Soto gives her a mirthless smile. "What are you dreaming of?" asks a curious Natasha. The operative is young, but they had sent her on missions, SHIELD was still coming across missions that had gone wrong that Soto had infiltrated or left her trademark wire cuttings on. Natasha knew she dreamt of her own ledger on occasion, not so often anymore, but did Soto have a similar list of names? Soto regards her for a moment before showing her a map on her tablet.

"This is our last mission..." Soto then draws out her cell phone and reveals a bunch of photos.

"Wait, you didn't show these to anyone?" Soto motions to her. "I don't count." Then Soto shrugs. Natasha reviews the photos. It would seem that the good doctor hadn't been lying when he hinted at other test subjects. Soto motions to a scar behind her left ear, one of the scars that will never heal.

"That's where they experimented on you?" Soto makes a motion to say "one of many." Had Natasha known that, she would have requested Clint accompany her. "You ready to do a mental walkthrough?" Soto takes a deep breath but nods. "I have to talk to Maria for a second, can I use your phone?" Soto nods. Natasha moves over towards the phone.

"Maria, there's something you gotta hear, can you meet me at Soto's quarters?"

It takes less than twenty minutes for Maria to arrive, but all the while Soto mentally prepares herself. She flexes her hands back and forth, making small arcing motions with her fingertips, as if she were fiddling with her wires.

"What's up?" asks Maria when she arrives. Natasha quickly explains the situation and Soto, pulls a sheet off the block of butchers paper. Soto quickly sketches out the plans of their last mission while Natasha shows the photos Soto had taken. Soto takes them through what she saw, step by step.

"What exactly does this mean?"

"It means that Red Room is working with someone... some corporation or something but has taken the process past what it used to be. Not only that but there are signs that we were being watched." Maria looks over towards Soto who nods.

"Okay, I'll bring this up with Fury. Until you're told otherwise though, keep this under your hat" orders Maria. With nods from both Natasha and Soto, Natasha turns towards Soto who hands the maps over to Maria. After Maria leaves, Natasha goes to the bathroom and picks up the first aid kit.

"C'mon kid, you were shot three times last mission. Let me look at you." Soto seems skittish at first but then relents and takes off her shirt to reveal a tank top. Natasha looks at her back to see that have mostly healed. What is left of the wound looks like a large deep pockmark. "Were there others?" asks Natasha. It's something that Natasha had been wondering ever since seeing the other testing tubes that Soto had been held in. Soto hold up two fingers.

Survivors guilt. Funny, with everything that had been done to her, she never stoped to think about what happened to the other girls. "Two other experiments?" asks Natasha, shaking herself from her thoughts. Soto makes a motion as if to say "that I remember." They'd have to look into that some more.


	4. Dance

There had been a gala. A charity gala, celebrating the opening of new clinics opening in the area. Natasha spends most of the night with Banner giving her awkward compliments. She even lets Rhodey treat her to a dance. Little did anyone know that the gala is the last thing on Natasha's mind. Camera's flash almost continuously, capturing the night for tomorrow's papers. But somewhere in all the lights and drinks, Natasha gets lost in her memories. Clint's unable to stop her when she makes a Cinderella like get away at midnight. Natasha had so many questions, questions from even when Clint got a hold of her and brought her in. The best she can do is talk to someone who would know the answers to at least some of her questions. And that leads her to Maria. So at nearly eleven o clock at night, Natasha is walking in her heels towards Maria's small New York apartment. Thing is, she didn't let Maria know first. So sitting in Maria's kitchen unannounced probably wasn't a good idea, but here she was.

"Romanoff? What the fuck!?!"

* * *

Maria had spent the night shaking so many hands she'd need more than hand sanitizer to clean her hands. She had spent the evening helping Pepper glad hand the big donors and had even danced a twirl with Tony. She does everything she's supposed to most of the night, but her mind is on a certain red headed spy in a beautiful black dress. She spends the rest of the night trying to find the assassin to ask her to dance. When Clint tells her that she disappeared, Maria tells Pepper that something came up and gets out of there fast. Calling Natasha's cell proves to be unhelpful, so she has Sharon check her usual haunts on the carrier, but she still comes up empty. Resigned, Maria retreats and goes home for the night. She's just tossed her keys in the bowl when the air shifts and she reaches for the gun in her garter belt. Clearing the living room, she makes her way to the small kitchen. Flicking on the light, with her gun ready, the light reveals Natasha sitting in the dark.

"Romanoff? What the fuck!?!" shouts Maria as she slumps against the wall. Studying the spy Maria realizes something is very wrong. "Natasha?" Maria watches her for a moment, gauging whether or not she should leave her alone to get changed. Deciding it was safe, Maria goes off and changes into yoga pants and brings back a pair for Nat to change into. Maria sets the change of clothes next to Natasha and goes to make a PB&J sandwich. When she returns, the spy has changed and is sitting on one end of the sofa. Maria sets the plate on the coffee table and waits. Whatever was on the operative's mind seemed to be causing her a great deal of distress and while Maria was fairly sure Natasha wouldn't kill her, she didn't want to push her before she was ready.

"Are they.... I can't decide.... Your the Assistant Director, you've read my file, so you'd know, right?" mutters Natasha, mostly to herself.

"Sweetheart, if I know I'll tell you, but I need to know what you're talking about" replies Maria as she touches Natasha's cheek.

"Did I ever really dance or was that all an implanted memory by Madame B? I remember dancing and doing fouettes but at the same time I remember stripping weapons and learning how to use a knife and establish contacts. They all mix up into a haze in my mind until I can't really be sure of what was real and what's not." Maria took a deep breath and scooted back into the sofa. To think that half an hour ago she'd been twirling with Tony.

"You did dance. In fact that's how we think they found you, singled you out. You were one of the best students and we think your dedication and was what made you so appealing to them. A six year old committing to hours upon hours of Russian ballet school."

"You looked beautiful tonight" says Natasha after a few minutes. Maria pushes the plate towards Natasha.

"We have a photo if you're interested. It's old and tattered but it's what we have."

"I see these moments all the time, a Dad making sure his kid is bundled up against the cold. A Mom making sure she has her kid's hand as they wait on the train platform. I can't remember if it's something that I've seen or if it's something I've experienced." Maria watches her polish off the sandwich.

"You should get some rest" says Maria as she goes and gets Natasha a pillow and blanket from the hall closet. Coming back she sees Natasha making herself comfortable on the sofa. Maybe what was best was giving Natasha some space tonight. Maria tucks in the spy without thinking. Natasha watches with a bemused grin as Maria tucks in the sides around her body. Maria kisses Natasha's forehead and heads off to bed. Natasha is surprised but comforted by the gesture, and Maria goes to her room blushing. 

* * *

There are private training rooms where people sometimes go to spar. The sound of music draws Natasha down the corridor. Steve and Maria had been in discussion with Natasha until she abruptly started to walk away.

"Romanoff? Romanoff you okay?" asks Steve. It was a piece of music that Natasha hadn't heard in years, mainly because she avoided classical music. But going down the hallway, she sees Soto dancing ballet. Natasha watches as Soto spins on her toes and continues across the room. Natasha is glad they let her keep her love of dance. Steve shifts uncomfortably on his feet before leaving. There is something he still doesn't like about her. Maria watched as she continued dancing flawlessly, bringing her dance to a close, her hands playing in the shadows and creating the form of a bird against the light. Steve looks back at the soft look that had come over Natasha's face. There was something wrong with that girl that he couldn't put his finger on. To him it felt like she'd been found simply to unnerve the assassin. Suddenly Natasha was doubting things and the facts of her past. It didn't sit well with him. 

* * *

During the events of the Winter Soldier, it's learned that Sitwell has still been overseeing Soto's health protocols. When HYDRA goes to attack Maria, it's only due to the added assistance from Soto that Maria is able to meet Natasha and Steve at the hospital, herself having been a target. When it comes to having the chips for the carriers Maria turns to Soto rather than Tony to create them. Going to Tony would have been something that Sitwell would have anticipated. However, after everything falls, it takes them too long to realize that Soto is missing. That's when Natasha puts it together. The missing piece the entity that she couldn't place that had been working with Red Room, was HYDRA.


	5. Chapter 5

It takes a while before anyone notices that Soto is even missing. Natasha had been busy testifying and getting information for Steve. Steve is on his hunt for Bucky, and Maria is having the fun job of dodging Happy Hogan while overseeing her new duties at Stark Industries. Sharon is the first one who notices.

At first they figure that Soto is off on some adventure with Foster and Lewis, but when Foster checks in and there's no sign of her, Maria begins to worry. Soto's home went into the Potomac with the carriers went down. Since that happened, Soto had been couch surfing. So when Maria checks in with Sharon and there's still no sign of the young assassin, Maria puts Natasha and Clint on alert. They locate Soto's last signal at an out of the way safe house. Sharon is the closest to the location and agrees to check it out.

It's immediately clear that something bad happened. She hadn't even reached the door yet but she had a bad feeling in her gut which has her speed dialing Natasha. The interior of the apartment is in shambles. There are three blood pools in the living room. An ambush. Sharon holsters her weapon, it's clear that whoever had ambushed Soto were long gone. Natasha is there within minutes. Together they go over the apartment. They'd come for her from all sides. Two through the windows and one from each door. The four of them had ambushed her with what looks like tranq darts and tasers. The only real signs that Soto was ever there are the jacket that Natasha had given her as a gift and the stuffed T Rex from Maria. Natasha recognizes the method and something else about it that she won't say, at least not front of Sharon. All Sharon knows is that they're going to Amsterdam.

* * *

They share a flight with Steve and Sam out to Amsterdam. It would seem that where HYDRA had given up on the Winter Soldier, they hadn't given up on their other creations. They'd traced the containment team back to Strucker, one of HYDRA's top goons and Dr. List, one of HYDRA's top doctors.

"Who's to say she didn't just return to her makers" says Steve, not understanding why Natasha cared so much about this girl. Natasha gives Steve an unimpressed look, as does Maria. They had worked out what was supposed to happen when HYDRA revealed itself. "You know, when Clint was sent after me he was supposed to kill me" starts Natasha. "Barton made a different choice." Steve nods at that.

"And you went on to become one of SHIELD's best operatives. Natasha I know-"

"No, what you don't know is how hard that transition was for me. I look at her and wonder if that's what Clint and Phil saw. If that's what everyone else saw. Were they cautioned about sharp objects? Objects in general? Were they cautioned to stay a certain distance away to avoid provoking attack?"

"Natasha I'm sure that's not what they thought. Fury trusted you--"

"Yeah and look at how much we trust him"

"That's not what I meant, Maria trusted you and so did Phil..."

"Not you though. Not until the world falls apart around our ears. Not until we were at Sam's. I trust Soto to watch my back as much as I do Clint. Anyway, you should understand better than anyone. Never leave a man behind."

"I'm sorry Natasha. As for Soto.... I just can't help but remember that mission...."

Natasha remembers the mission. She remembered it better than anyone.

* * *

Maria had been captured as part of an AIM stunt for power. Natasha had been with Tony and Pepper that night at Stark Tower when Victoria Hand sends the alert to the Tower. Hand had forwarded the photos of the scene where SHIELD vehicles had been torn apart and flipped, bodies scattered around like rag dolls. Natasha's chest had suddenly felt tight and she'd started to shake. They'd dealt with this particular faction of AIM before and they were ruthless. They're experiments were off the charts in terms of dangerous. Pepper had helped her to sit down and Tony had spared her any jokes and gotten her a bottle of water. She'd known that Maria had come to mean a lot to her, but the thought of them experimenting on Maria made her physically ill. The thought of never seeing her again had brought with it terrifying clarity. She was in love with her.

The rescue mission had consisted of those who were on hand, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that the Assistant Director of SHIELD had been captured. Natasha, Steve, and Tony had headed to the Ukraine to retrieve Maria. Natasha had been a mess of nerves the entire flight but had been ready for blood. Soto hadn't made her presence known until the jet made it's decent.

"Um, party of one looking for a chaperone!" called Tony. Natasha had looked at the young assassin. She understood why she was here. Natasha and Maria were the only people she trusted and were like family to her.

"If I tell you to stay put, will you?" asks Natasha. Soto raises an incredulous eyebrow at her. "I didn't think so." Inside things got hectic fast. There were Hammer's AIM bots for Tony and Steve to deal with, but the guards were Natasha's to take care of. Natasha and Soto's. They make quick work of the guards. When Steve finally catches up there's nothing but trails of blood. He follows the trails down the corridor to reveal a pile of bodies, being dragged by bits of wire. Natasha found Maria strapped to a chair. They'd reached her before anything more than preliminary testing could be done, but she was heavily sedated. However the fun didn't stop just because they'd found her. If anything it brought on another wave of attackers. Tony blasted what he could but had to work on the reinforced door if they stood any chance of getting out. Steve was helping hold Maria up and Natasha was tired of waiting for a Strike team to come and get them out of here. Natasha looks behind her where Soto stands ready, picking off stragglers with a rifle. Soto meets her eye and Natasha gives her a nod.

It seemed to happen in slow motion to Steve. Years later he will relate it to Bucky going into his brainwashed mode. The wires seem to suddenly flow out of her gloves and Soto moves in a deal dance. Steve watches as the first thread wraps around the throat of the first attacker, and the wrist of a second. Soto tangles her legs in another's while she elbows his head. It happens in seconds, with the small effort of tugging the wire. Throats are slashed and blood pours from hair fine wounds. Suddenly they're in a blood bath. Steve's used to bullets and knives, but this is such effortless killing. Two more yanks on the line that is lightly resting against throats, against wrists, against tendons, and it's all over. Tony finally manages the door and then it's a quick run to the jet, but Steve can't get the scent of blood out of his nose.

* * *

"They made her that way Steve. Just like they made me and I'm not going to let them continue doing it to her. According to her there were at least two others being experimented on and maybe we can help them too." Steve nods.

"Then let's go get her."


	6. Conditioning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning Dark and contains torture

The team of Steve, Sam, Tony, and Natasha, run through the woods towards the compound, certain that they're on the right path. Tony had used one of Soto's inventions to track her within a certain radius, but from there Natasha knew where she was. This was familiar ground, literally. She remembers running the grounds, training to detect opposition surveillance. They are at what used to be a State School Four- other known as Sparrow School. Natasha tries to remember the layout but the lessons are easier to recall than the hallways. She's confident they're on the right track though when they capture a scientist walking across part of the compound. The scientist seems to recognize Natasha by sight, not as the Black Widow, but as a subject of Sparrow training. The scientist leads them to the appropriate building and Sam hacks the video feed with little trouble. Through the handheld monitor, they see the small figure of Soto sitting in a blindingly white room, wet and shivering.

"I don't get it" says Sam, watching the feed. Given what he had heard of Red Room he expected a rotted cell and chains. From the looks of it Soto was simply hunched there, clad in white clothing, shivering. Natasha wasn't buying it though, she zoomed in on the feed and there in a hazy pixelated grayscale, injuries became visible. Natasha was guessing that most of the injuries had faded somewhat due to Soto's regenerative abilities, but she healed through pain. Still the room didn't make sense.

"What's going on?" growls Natasha to the captive doctor.

"It is called White Torture. It is a form of psychological torture that includes extreme sensory deprivation and isolation" explains the doctor in perfect English. There is no trace of a Russian accent. "Having already tortured her physically, we allow the mind to break itself so that it can be remade. Here she will experience desperation, disorientation, and hallucinations. It's all well documented and standard for operatives that have... fallen."

"And what if she just looses her mind?" asks Sam.

"Then we move onto another Sparrow with more success. However, Soto's regenerative ability means that she can be remade again and again" reasons the doctor. The phrase "remade" makes Natasha shiver involuntarily. The memories come back in an onslaught. She remembers the Matron clearly, a short woman who stood at about five and half feet tall with a husky voice and piercing eyes. She had aged gracefully and one could see that she had high cheekbones and a once voluptuous figure, and was probably once a Sparrow herself. But she had aged and greyed and now passed on her knowledge to new Sparrows. Natasha tries to shake her head clear, but only succeeds in rattling the memories around in her head. She remembers the lessons that she and undoubtedly Soto had had to endure. Language lessons, lessons in disguise, in psychology, on identifying vulnerabilities. She remembers the Matron's instructions clearly. _Concentrate on the lessons and exercises.  Nothing else is important_. And Natasha had. Natasha had studied until she became the best. Subject to evaluations by doctors and scientists like the one they'd captured, as well as military and government officials, she came out the top of her class. But that didn't matter. What mattered was her mission, and until she was given one she was just a weapon in a global struggle for power, one of many. Combat and firearms lessons would come later. They were taught basic self defense, but if they were doing their jobs right, there would be no need. Red Room had people for that too. People that specialized in skinning someone, in digging out the truth from the bone. But they would come to find that Natasha excelled at the wet work as well.

"Romanoff. Natasha, you still with us?" asks Tony. Natasha nods stiffly.

"She won't be able to hold herself up, much less run. One of you will need to carry her" says Natasha flatly. Sam looks at Natasha then back to the feed. He'd bet money that Soto isn't more than a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet. The scientist rolls her eyes, causing Tony to tighten his grip around her waist and shoulders.

"The girl is past pain. That's why she was placed in the room."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asks Tony roughly.

"She is past tendon and nerve pain, past the pain of broken bones. Even past the pain of electrical stimulation. Now it is the anticipation of pain that frightens her" explains the scientist with a knowing nod. Steve looks to Natasha.

"You know this to be true" he says. It's a statement. Natasha turns and looks him in the eye.

"You don't achieve the rank, the title of Black Widow without knowing how to break someone. Sometimes it's as simple as opening your legs, other times it takes a bullet, but there are those trained to resist interrogation and for those you have to know what methods to employ." Natasha wonders if he gets it now. She knows he sees her as an ally, and she is, but she had released her past to the world when she brought down Pierce. Steve was the only one who didn't go looking to find out what that entailed. Well this was her school, these were her methods. Her past, her ledger was ugly and red, bursting with blood that she could only hope to make up for. Steve's about to say something else when the screens flicker. Tony zooms in a bit to get a clearer view of what's happening.

Suddenly in the white room there's the projected figure of Natasha. Steve is frozen in place as he watches the projected figure approach Soto's cowering form. Sensing that she's no longer alone, Soto looks up. Upon seeing the projected form of Natasha she reaches out, but stops just short of touching her. Soto shakes her head and then reaches out again, this time her hand shaking. There's maybe three feet between the figures. The projected figure of Natasha seems to gasp and holds a hand to her throat. There, a hair line cut appears, and from it blood begins to flow. It pours down her neck and down her front. Soto looks to be hysterical as she scoots away from the pooling blood as the projected figure collapses to her knees. Soto's holding her head, her eyes screwed shut in desperation to make the scene before her go away. But then the image of the corpse and blood flicker and disappear. Soto opens her eyes to a once again empty white room.

"What the hell was that?" asks Sam in horror as they watch Soto hyperventilate and pass out.

"We simply eliminated her reason for escape" says the scientist, not bothered by Tony's tightening hold. "It's more effective than a worded threat. While she stays in her cell, she will wonder if this is a premonition, something that has come to pass, or merely a warning to all those she would seek out for help. It also serves as a reminder."

"Of what?" asks Steve.

"That she has one purpose, that is as a weapon."

"No. She had to know that was an illusion, she will" says Sam in a tone that says he's trying to convince himself.

"What happens now?" asks Steve.

"Now we simply let her be until she breaks, her own hallucinations will warp what she just saw and will be far more effective than anything we dream up. Then she will be broken and ready to me remade once more." Natasha makes those be the scientist's final words as she shoots a silenced round into the doctor's skull.

"Screw that, we're getting her out of there. Now!" growls Natasha. Tony lets the body fall to the ground and then they're off, trying to keep up with Natasha's pace. Natasha gets to the room first and throws the door open. The bang startles Soto awake, who then turns to the doorway. Her face is one of frantic horror. Natasha quickly makes her way to Soto's side. Soto meanwhile is shaking her head side to side in disbelief. Natasha takes her trembling hand and rests it on the pulse on her throat.

"I'm really here. We're here to take you home" says Natasha gently, but firmly. Sam enters the room next and carefully picks up the small girl. He tries to ignore the wounds that are exposed down her back and on her arms as she is jostled. Steve shields them from oncoming fire while Tony uses one of his data mining bugs on the Red Room computers. Natasha takes out anyone she sees. It's search and destroy for her. Tony seems to pick up on this, launching his most lethal bombs on the main housing buildings. Contrary to popular belief, they trained there with men as well. Where girls became Sparrows, the boys became Ravens. Natasha takes both down with her bullets. She runs the familiar path between the dormitories, going to the room where new recruits were brought. She isn't sure what she thought she'd find, but it's empty when she stops. She closes her eyes. There is no innocence here to be found and rescued. These men and women had been selected from the academy of foreign intelligence. They were enemies, spies, anyway you looked at it. Natasha retreats, Tony's voice coming through the comms that the place is set to blow. Except it's just one of the Sparrow Schools.

The extraction goes smoothly, but Natasha can't shake the feeling that they're being watched. When Soto had first brought up their unknown watchers, she thought it might have been the Winter Soldier. But now he was on the run too, and if he'd been under Red Room's control, they wouldn't have made it far. So now she wonders if it's another Sparrow. Still, she pushes the thought out of her mind as Sam lays Soto on one of the beds in the back of the jet as Tony says they're reaching cruising altitude. She sits next to the girl, piling blankets on her and holding her hand.

Tony comes back to see if there's anything he can do. There isn't, and it makes Tony feel nauseous. For all his genius and technology, there's nothing he can do to ease Soto's pain. Looking at Soto's collapsed form, he could see the young girl Natasha referred to. He thinks back to when Natasha had interrogated Loki. " _I have red in my ledger..._ " Had this been what she'd meant? He's just about to ask, when Steve speaks first.

"You knew what they were doing to her. You've been on the receiving end of that once." Not wanting his pity, Natasha reminds him.

"I've been on both side of that." And with that she remains silent the rest of the ride home. She spends the trip trying to put one horrifying fact out of her mind. Despite everything they did to her, Soto had remained silent. They had trained her well. She hadn't broken, not even when rescue came. It didn't seem like much of a victory.


	7. Recovery

Waking alone in her private hospital room, Soto sighs to herself. She should have seen it coming. It was one of her very first lessons. Every human being is a puzzle of need - you must become that missing piece. Had that been what SHIELD needed her to be? Bait in a HYDRA trap? She shakes her head and scoffs. SHIELD isn't so different from what she's used to. After all, what they do is for something greater than themselves.

  
The one visitor she does get is Sharon Carter. They had worked well in the field together, but there is no mistaking what this is. It was an evaluation done by a spy, her disguise was their friendship. But Soto knew her true purpose. It was like being back at Red Room all over again, except here they tried to ply her with niceties. Soft, comfortable clothing, bandages, a private room. But what they wanted was the same. What had she told them? She could not tell them anything because there was nothing to tell. She had not broken when soaking wet and in front of the blowers. She had not broken to their screams or the sirens or the deafening quiet. Not when they authorized the administration of drugs or a higher dose of electricity. She had held her tongue and would not recount the ordeal simply because they gave her the face of a friend. 

The same holds true when Sam Wilson comes to sit with her. Apparently he works with soldiers with PTSD. In that case, where should she start? Should she start at the beginning? The question is whose beginning? Which one? She has been so many people since she initially offered herself to the Mothherland in hopes of making a better future. Had that been when it started? A naive girl who wanted to dance? Is that what they wish to hear? Well that girl is dead. The girl who had auditioned at the Moscow School of Choreography at age five and who could see, could feel the music, was long buried. She had simply done what she was trained to do. Resist them. Fight them. Survive. Surely that needed no explanation.

* * *

  
Natasha creeps out of Maria's embrace the next morning. She makes her way down to the kitchen and pulls out the frying pan. She's never done this before. She's cooked meals, yes. But this is different. This is even more than her just staying the night. This whole relationship is different. Natasha makes eggs in a basket, the one thing she knows how to make with the limited ingredients in Maria's fridge. Cutting holes in the center of the bread she eats the centers, humming to herself. She likes what she has with Maria. She flips the toast and eggs over, careful not to break the yolk. She then serves them onto plates and carries them upstairs. Inside the bedroom she finds Maria stretching. 

"I thought you'd left" says Maria after a yawn. Natasha pauses, unsure. 

"I can if you want" she stammers. 

"No! No, this is better. I like it when you're here." Natasha gives her an unsure smile and hands her a plate and a fork. This is different. It's not just sex between them. Natasha wants more than that. Not that the sex isn't great, but she finds herself going to Maria when she has down time just to be near her. She wants this to work. Maria seems to pick up on Natasha's train of thought. 

"It's fine. I like having you here, now stop over thinking. We're making this work so far-"   
"I just don't have a lot of experience in these things. Normally, I get what I want and leave. But with you... I find myself wanting to stay."

* * *

  
Soto is healing slowly. She tells herself that she can't control how she feels but she can control what she does. So she aims to be the best agent she can be for them. Wanda cheats and uses her mind tricks around her to see what she's thinking, what that raised eyebrow means. The two of them are as thick as thieves. But then Soto gets a new assignment from Maria. She's to track down Brock Rumlow.   
Nothing is easy. She spends six months staying on Rumlow's tail, but he always manages to stay one step ahead, usually due to an explosion. He has his Skeleton Crew and they make things difficult. Rumlow continues to aid HYDRA by stealing technology and raiding facilities. He gets good at leaving casualties in his wake. Trailing him takes a brief back seat when he manages to gouge her side with one of the knives he keeps in his gauntlets. She manages to get away but manages to update Steve.   
Steve and his team are then ready for him and his team in Lagos Nigeria when he goes after a bioweapon.

And that's how the Sokovia accords begin.


	8. Chapter 8

Waiting.  So much of the spy game is waiting.  Yelena Belova is tired of waiting.  She has shadowed the Little Mouse for years now but little has come from it.  The idiotka didn't speak so there was little sense in bugging her apartment.  Yelena had infiltrated her pad early too.  It was hardly impressive.  A dingy little hole in the wall.  Soto didn't socialize much either, so there was no in there either.  Soto has become so willing to please others that she hardly even uses her wires anymore.  Such a precision instrument of death that took years to master and yet she now reverted to guns or taser batons, as if her personal weapons were ones of shame.  
  
Yelena gives weekly reports on Soto to the Center, reports on nothing.  She is done waiting.  Soto gives her nothing to act on.  For a while it had seemed that there was a fledgling relationship between Soto and Jane Foster.  That had almost been promising.  But then the scientist went on the lecture circuit and Soto moved on from whatever it was that was developing between them.  Yelena then watched, hoping something would develop between Sharon Carter and Soto, but there was nothing to be found but friendship.  
  
So Sharon became her focus.  It had been simple.  The day of their training exercise is perfect.  Almost as if it was planned just for this.  The trainees are supposed to find Sharon and Soto at the end of their course by using basic tradecraft.  A lofty goal.  None of these men and women, no, these boys and girls, none of them would ever be considered for Sparrow training.  They all lack the basic street craft to complete the simple exercise before them.  Although that makes Yelena's job that much easier.  No witnesses.  
  
Yelena sighs.  She has to be careful, Carter is no good to her dead.  It would send a different message.  She knows who Carter is.  The agent tries to hide it with a number, Agent 13, but Yelena has done her research.  Sharon Carter is the niece of the infamous agent Peggy Carter.  Peggy Carter, now there was a formidable agent.  She'd nearly uncovered the Red Room and HYDRA's connection years ago.  They learned about her and Captain America and the Howling Commandos in their lessons at State School Four.  Agent 13 isn't her aunt, but she will do.  
  


* * *

  
Sharon wakes up handcuffed to a bed.  There's a woman watching her.  Sharon has been captured before, she knows how this works.  
"Are we waiting for someone?" asks Sharon.  She gets no response, but the woman tilts her head to look at her from another angle.  
"Are you with AIM or HYDRA?" tries Sharon again.  She gets a snort in response.  Sharon sighs.

* * *

  
Soto comes to gradually.  Her mouth tastes funny, like it gets when someone is pumping her full of drugs.  She struggles to take the IV out to get it to stop and to sit up.  
"Hey, hey, relax.  You've been shot.  Twice" announces Clint as he tries to push her back against the gurney.  Yelena.  Soto knows who she saw without question.  But how had she been there?  Soto's memory is fuzzy.  She remembers two shots.  They hit her in the neck and throat.  Great, now she couldn't even talk even if she wanted to.  She remembers the feel of the impact rocketing her back and sideways.  Sharon.  She remembers Sharon trying to come to her aid.  
"Relax, Nat and Maria are on their way" says Clint in a soothing tone, but it has the opposite effect.  Natasha and Maria can't be anywhere near here.  Where Sharon was a lure for Soto, Soto and Sharon were to be lures for Natasha and Maria.  The former Sparrow would stop at nothing to get her hands on the two that had defected.  Soto does her best to shake her head, as much as her injured neck will allow.  Clint tries to get her to still her motions by giving her a whiteboard to write on.  Clint tries to read over her shoulder as scrawls something on to the board.  
"Yelena coming.  Tell Maria and Natasha to divert!"  reads Clint.  As soon as he's done he nods and rushes to convey the message.  If they're going to get ahead of this they'd have to scramble.  He doesn't understand or know who Yelena was, but it took a lot to get Soto worked up and now he was worried too. 


End file.
